"Everyone must read this book. It has already revolutionized family therapy." -Contemporary Psychology "The Invisible Web is on my most highly recommended short list of readings in my family and couples therapy courses. Sparkling with clinical insights and case illustrations on gender dilemmas in relationships, it is always a favorite of students." -Froma Walsh, PhD An invaluable guide for mental health practitioners, and an insightful read for anyone who wishes to explore the invisible web of gender patterns in families. An excellent text for courses in family therapy and women's studies. Bringing new focus to the subject, The Invisible Web investigates the family from a feminist perspective. Using the lens of gender, connections between mothers and daughters, fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, and husbands and wives are analyzed and given new meaning. The authors evaluate and redefine family transitions such as divorce, single-parent and female-headed households, and remarried couples who are attempting to integrate their respective children with ex-spouses and complicated networks of extended kin. They also reexamine traditional and emerging roles for women in their early, middle, and later years. Written in an engaging format, each chapter features an indepth analysis of how gender shapes the relationship in question. This discussion is followed by fascinating vignettes of actual cases from each of the four authors, whose approaches reflect different orientations to therapy. Table of Contents Prologue: Our Experience Marianne Walters I. Some Definitions 1. Toward a Feminist Perspective in Family Therapy II. Family Relationships 2. Mothers and Daughters, Marianne Walters Caught in the Muddle, Marianne Walters "I Can't Believe You Thought My Going to See Uncle S. Meant I Didn't Love You", Betty Carter "Go For It, Mom!", Peggy Papp The Bad Mother, Olga Silverstein 3. Fathers and Daughters, Betty Carter Three Generations of Daddy's Girls, Betty Carter The Godfather, Peggy Papp The "Independent" Daughter, Olga Silverstein The Different Faces of Close, Marianne Walters 4. Mothers and Sons, Olga Silverstein It's All Right to Love Your Son, Olga Silverstein "Too Much Mothering", Peggy Papp The Good Son, Betty Carter "Oedipal, Shmedipal As Long As You Love Your Mother", Marianne Walters 5. Couples, Peggy Papp The "Frigid" Wife, Peggy Papp The Projective Pair, Olga Silverstein The Person Who Has the Gold Makes the Rules, Betty Carter "Does Strong Have to Mean Silent?", Marianne Walters III. Family Transitions 6. Divorce: His and Hers, Betty Carter "Something Has to Change", Betty Carter On Golden Pond Revisited, Peggy Papp Rescue Operation, Olga Silverstein "For Your Sake", Marianne Walters 7. Single-Parent, Female-Headed Households, Marianne Walters Moving to the Front of the Bus, Marianne Walters "They Need a Strong Man in Their Lives", Betty Carter The Right to Be a Mother, Peggy Papp Cinderella Revisited, Olga Silverstein Is What You Need What You Want?, Marianne Walters IV. Single Women 9. Single Women: Early and Middle Years, Peggy Papp "Scaling the Heights of Life", Peggy Papp Drowning in a Sea of Success, Marianne Walters 10. Single Women: Later Years, Olga Silverstein The Faded Flower, Olga Silverstein "I May Never Find Another Man", Betty Carter Epilogue Marianne Walters References Index from the publisher's website |